Former Phillies ace Roberts reflects on last time team took on Yankees in World Series

Wednesday

Oct 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2009 at 12:17 PM

Former Philadelphia Phillies ace Robin Roberts doesn’t always remember the birthdays of his children, but if you ask the Hall of Fame pitcher and 1944 Lanphier High School graduate about the 1950 World Series … “I remember all the games I pitched like that,” the 83-year-old Roberts said Tuesday afternoon by phone from New York, where he is doing some public relations for the Philadelphia Phillies in a reprise of the 1950 World Series against the Yankees.

Jim Ruppert

Robin Roberts doesn’t always remember the birthdays of his children, but if you ask the Hall of Fame pitcher and 1944 Lanphier High School graduate about the 1950 World Series …

“I remember all the games I pitched like that,” the 83-year-old Roberts said Tuesday afternoon by phone from New York, where he is doing some public relations for the Philadelphia Phillies in a reprise of the 1950 World Series against the Yankees. “I remember things about other games, pitch by pitch, inning by inning.

“It’s silly. I can’t remember my kids’ birthdays, but I remember that other stuff. They get on me for that.”

The Phillies and Yankees face off in this year's World Series, the first time the two teams have met in the World Series since 1950. The series moves to Philadelphia’s 5-year-old Citizens Bank Park for Games 3 and 4 over the weekend.

But 1950 is just minutes away in Roberts’ memory.

“We worked hard to get there,” Roberts said. “We almost blew it. We had a 7½-game lead. We were happy we ended up there. We won (the National League pennant) on Sunday, and the World Series started Wednesday.

“And then the damn Yankees pitched like mad against us. They beat us 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and then in the fourth game Whitey Ford got his first World Series win, 5-2.”

As they say, you can look it up.

Because Roberts had to pitch so often in the final week of the regular season, Phillies manager Eddie Sawyer used relief ace Jim Konstanty — the 1950 Cy Young Award winner — as his Game 1 starter. Vic Raschi pitched a two-hitter in a 1-0 New York win.

It was Roberts’ turn in Game 2 against Allie Reynolds.

“We went into the ninth inning 1-1, and we had runners on first and second and one out,” Roberts remembered. “Mike Goliat hit a double-play ball. (Joe) DiMaggio hit a homer off me in the 10th and they won 2-1.”

They were the “Whiz Kids” in 1950, an improbable National League champion with youth on their side. Roberts was 24. Future fellow Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn was 23. Roberts’ longtime friend Curt Simmons was 21. But that 1950 World Series appearance was Philadelphia’s last until 1980.

“We did,” Roberts said when asked if he and his teammates thought 1950 was going to be the first of many World Series experiences. “But I remember my wife Mary, who passed away five years ago -- that was the first year of our marriage and she went to the World Series -- years later saying she thought we were doing this every year, and we never did do it again.”

Roberts said there was so much pressure on the Phillies that final week of the 1950 season that the stress of the World Series was minimal.

“It was exciting for us,” Roberts said of the first World Series to have a television sponsor; Gillette put up $1 million, and that money went into the players’ pension fund. “But I didn’t personally realize how important it was to fans.

“You don’t realize how many people are living their life with you and your career. I meet guys now, in their 70s, and they say, ‘We really rooted for you.’ I didn’t realize they were that excited. I know I was.”

As part of his PR for the Series, one of the guys he will talk about is Chatham’s Jayson Werth, the Phillies’ All-Star right fielder.

“I see him quite often,” Roberts said. “I told him I played against his great-great grandfather. I was 16 and I think he was in his 40s. But I followed Dick (Schofield, Werth’s grandfather) and the younger Dick (Schofield, Werth’s uncle).

“Jayson has developed into one wonderful baseball player. He has very much pop, he’s strong, runs well. … I’ve enjoyed my association with Jayson.”

“As a kid, I didn’t know much about him,” Roberts said. “I knew he was a high draft choice by Baltimore, then he was with Toronto and the Dodgers. Somehow he hurt his hand, and he finally got it worked out.

“The guy who is the general manager of the Phillies (Pat Gillick, who as Orioles general manager in 1997 made Werth the 22nd player selected in the draft) was involved with Jayson in the past and saw he was available and took him.

“Last year they spotted him, and toward the end of the year he played more and more. This year he has hit some important home runs. And they are shots. He hits them high and far. He runs so well, and he has such a good throwing arm. If he keeps hitting like he does, he’s going to be a big part of the team for a long time.”